Obituary: Gerry Marsden

 Noted musician from the British Invasion Gerry Marsden, famous for heading the group Gerry & the Pacemakers, considered a friendly rival to The Beatles, has passed away at the age of 78, it was reported.  He died after a short illness.

My photo of Gerry Marsden, from August of 2008.
He and his group performed in Sparks, NV.

As I note here on a 2008 blog post,  Marsden regarded John Lennon as his closest friend.  I don't doubt this because he was very fond of him and knew him from way back when they first started becoming noticed.  Both The Beatles and Gerry & the Pacemakers were managed by the legendary Brian Epstein.  Marsden in 2008 was still a very good performer despite or perhaps because of his grandfatherly demeanor.

As the article notes, he didn't die of COVID but instead suffered from a blood infection that went to his heart.  He had a wife, children, and grandchildren.

Article:

The Pacemakers topped the British charts in 1963 with their first three singles, How Do You Do It?, I Like It and You’ll Never Walk Alone, a Rodgers and Hammerstein composition from the musical Carousel. The song became the anthem of Liverpool FC, sung from the Kop at every game. The club tweeted: “It is with such great sadness that we hear of Gerry Marsden’s passing. Gerry’s words will live on forever with us. You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

Gerry and the Pacemakers played regularly alongside the Beatles. Both groups were part of Brian Epstein’s Liverpool-based management stable.

They played together for the first time in June 1960 – when the Beatles were still the Silver Beetles – and in December that year they were contracted to play a four-month stint in Hamburg, prompting the group to give up their day jobs to become professional musicians. “We went over with the Beatles and had a good laugh,” Marsden later recalled.

(end of quote)

More and more entertainers from my youth are passing from the scene.  I sure don't like it one bit.

An added note is this remembrance:

Gerry was a mate from our early days in Liverpool. He and his group were our biggest rivals on the local scene. His unforgettable performances of You’ll Never Walk Alone and Ferry Cross the Mersey remain in many people’s hearts as reminders of a joyful time in British music... pic.twitter.com/t1COAIwZVM

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) January 3, 2021